"Dad!" he shouted, brushing off Madam Pomfrey's immediate glare. He shoved his hand into his pocket before he pulled out his mum's necklace. "Mum wanted me to give this to you and kept saying 'Azrial' or something." His dad glanced at the necklace briefly but made no move to grab it.

"How is she, Madam?"

The matron sighed softly and shrugged. "She was well enough earlier to sneak out to visit the library of all places, but there's been no change since she's arrived back here, Severus."

"The library?"

Harry could see the wheels turning in his father's mind. Maybe he had a clue that would help his father. It was worth a shot after all.

"Yeah," Harry cut in. "She was looking at some old book when Professors McGonagall and Lupin found her."

"Interesting." His father then took a seat beside Aurora's bedside, gently reaching for her hand.

"Did you learn anything on your trip?" Pomfrey asked, glancing at him.

"A great deal," Severus replied with a frown.

"And . . .?" Madam Pomfrey's hands went to her hips. "Well, come on now, Severus. Don't keep me waiting with something like this. What did you learn? Can we make an antidote?"

He shook his head, though. "No. It's up to her, Madam."

"Mum?" Harry said feeling rather confused. How was it up to her now?

"You were there the night she was born, were you not?" asked his dad to Pomfrey.

"I was. Albus had recommended me to them for some reason. Why?"

"Do you recall that night? Who was with them, I mean?"

"I don't follow."

"Obviously Aurora's parents were there, but were there others?"

Harry saw the recognition dawn on the matron's face.

"Now that you mention it, yes, there were three others: an older man, younger man, and a young woman. The younger ones were asked to remain outside by the older man."

"And you didn't find that the least bit strange?" Severus asked with a brow raised.

"Well, yes, but the older man stayed out of my way with his back to us looking out the window. And neither Syra nor Orin seemed to mind his presence." She then paused. "Actually, Orin was nearly late. I suppose I just brushed it off as a friend of theirs. Why do you ask, Severus?"

"Did you happen to notice, Madam, if they were vampires?"

Harry's mouth dropped.

"Vampires? Are you mad?" Pomfrey huffed in clear outrage. "As if I'd ever let vampires near a pregnant woman about to give birth. I'm well aware of the blood lust those creatures have."

Harry caught his father's lip twitch slightly.

"Why on earth are you asking these ridiculous questions? What does any of that have to do with what's happening to her now?"

"She grew up around vampires at Windsor, did she not?"

"Well, yes, I believe so." Pomfrey then huffed again. "Severus, answer me. What does any of this have to do with her now?"

Harry seemed to recall Aurora telling him a story about her childhood friend who was a vampire once. He couldn't remember the name, though. Just that she had fancied him until she had met Severus. He glanced at his dad, wondering if he knew that.

"It would seem the vampires at Windsor decided to repay Syra and Orin back for their kindness in allowing them shelter by adding their blood to the serum," Severus revealed quietly.

"What?" Madam Pomfrey looked horrified at hearing this.

"Wait, what? Are you—is Mum a vampire then?" Harry glanced over at Aurora, feeling slightly uneasy for some reason. Maybe that feeling was because of Pomfrey's horror. He didn't know. He supposed he could see Aurora as a vampire on second thought. She did always complain she was cold, and she was definitely a night owl. And weren't vampires nocturnal? At least the movie vampires always seemed to be. He shook his head, though. He had seen Aurora eat loads of salads, and she hardly ever ate meat. If she did, it was usually some form of chicken or bird of some kind. This didn't make sense. He had heard her heartbeat whenever she had held him on particularly bad nights. Vampires don't have beating hearts, though. "So, what is she then?"

"This is preposterous! Aurora is no more vampire than you or me, Severus," Pomfrey declared.

"Scan her, Madam. Look for the enzyme."

"You've been spending too much time in your dungeons and breathing in the fumes, young man," Pomfrey replied briskly. "She is not a vampire!"

"Scan her," Severus repeated calmly.

"Fine. I will!" Pomfrey drew her wand a moment later and ran it over Aurora's body. "See? There's no—oh."

Harry's head whipped around and glanced at the matron. Oh? What was 'Oh?' He didn't like the sound of 'Oh.'

"That's impossible. She's never shown any symptoms or signs for that matter," Pomfrey said with a puzzled look as she stared at her readings.

"Were you checking?"

"Of course I was checking!" Pomfrey snapped, glaring at him. "She always had me scan her right after she returned from Windsor to make certain there weren't any accidental exposures." She shook her head. "This doesn't make any sense. She had no symptoms when she returned."

"And yet there is the enzyme," his dad drawled.

"It's barely registering, but yes, it's there," Pomfrey said dejectedly. "I should've caught it earlier. We could have—"

"You can cure vampirism?" Harry interjected, looking down the moment his father glanced at him. What? He was just curious. There was so much about the Wizarding World he knew nothing about. He wouldn't put it past them. They had cured the common cold after all.

"No, Mister Potter. There is no cure unfortunately," Madam Pomfrey answered with a sigh. "I only meant that had I known earlier, I could have slowed the progression."

"But if she's not a vampire yet, then maybe you can—"

"Vampirism does not work like that, Mister Potter."

"That's not what this is, Madam," Severus interjected. He frowned in response to her glare. "As you recall, Syra's work was to alter the genetic makeup of someone. To make them stronger."

"Yes, Severus, I'm aware of that, seeing as how I worked with her last year to save you both," Pomfrey interrupted brusquely.

"So when the vampire blood was added, unbeknownst to her, it altered the serum. A hybrid, if you will. Syra's protections, that necklace in Harry's hands, was only supposed to keep Aurora's strength hidden, I would imagine. A sort of dampener if you will."

"But she was without it last year."

"She was, and each session with Leonidas likely activated the serum bit by bit." Severus glanced back at Aurora and sighed. "She's fighting against it, and that's what's causing her to get weaker."

"So, then, what? Are we supposed to let her fight?"

"Yes. The vampire who revealed this stated that Aurora has a choice in this matter. That the ability to choose is what this whole 'Azrial' nonsense is about."

"You know?" Harry asked quietly. So then he didn't need to relay the information Aurora had so desperately wanted him to know?

"Yes, Harry, I know." Severus then sighed again before he brushed aside a stray strand of Aurora's hair tenderly. "And I believe she knew as well deep down."

"But what's she deciding?" the young man asked, glancing at her. "I don't understand, Dad."

"She's been in a tremendous amount of pain, son," his dad replied quietly. "Some emotional and some physical. If she chooses to stop fighting and becomes a full-fledged vampire as a result of the enzyme, then she won't feel it anymore. Feel anything in fact. But if she continues to fight as she's being doing, then the pain and feeling will remain with her."

Harry's eyes narrowed for a moment as he thought on this. It seemed strange to think that someone would choose to become a vampire. To be forced to rely on hurting others by drinking their blood. Not to feel any emotions such as love from hugging one's child. Not to mention all the looks she'd get from others who would only see her as a monster then. He frowned then.

Would she be a monster, though? Or would she be the same person as before just a little less emotional? He supposed it was a bit like people who were bitten by werewolves. They weren't bad people. They just were people bad things happened to. Underneath it all, they were still the same people. Weren't they? Though, his dad did seem to hate werewolves the most. He seemed pretty all right with vampires, even though they were considered by society as being just as dark as werewolves.

"Dad, what if she chooses the vampire option, you know, to stop the pain?"

"Then I'll remain by her side as she's done with me, Harry," his dad replied.

Harry nodded hesitantly. Would he do the same, he wondered. He then looked back at her and bit his lower lip. What if she attacked his dad and made him like her? At least he wouldn't lose his dad then, he supposed. But would he be all right knowing that they were vampires? Walking in on feeding time? He grimaced and shook his head to get that image out of his mind quickly.

"I shudder to think what you'll do when we marry, brat," his father said with a sigh.

"What?" Harry replied with a horrified look on his face. "No! You can't marry her now!" he screeched. "Not if she chooses to become a soul-sucking vampire! She'll kill you. She'll kill me!"

His dad scoffed and shook his head. "She's not becoming a werewolf, Harry."

"No, but I've read about vampires."

"Clearly not enough," his dad mumbled.

"They drink blood! Human blood! We're humans, Dad! Not to mention, this is a castle full of humans. It'll be like last year all over again. Dead chickens everywhere."

"I'm with Mister Potter," Madam Pomfrey piped up. "We need to stop this, Severus."

"It's her choice, Madam," Severus replied.

"Perhaps, but I am her healer, and I say, no. We're stopping this madness once and for all." Pomfrey then flicked her wand at Aurora. However, instead of whatever was supposed to have happened happening, the jet of light from her spell bounced off Aurora and flew back before it shattered a nearby window. "What in the nine hells?" exclaimed the healer before she moved to flick her wand once more.

"NO!" Severus yelled, moving to shield Aurora's body with his own.

The moment the spell hit Aurora, a strong wave of magic slammed hard against all of them, sending Harry and Pomfrey crashing to the floor. Harry was the first to stumble to his knees and glance back at his parents. He gasped and covered his mouth.

"What did you do?!" snarled Severus as he frantically moved to Aurora's side again.

Pomfrey seemed at a loss of words as she watched Aurora seizing violently. She then quickly went into action, summoning a vial from across the room.

"She shouldn't be reacting this way! All I did was try to cast a shield around her." Pomfrey took a quick scan and shook her head. "All of her vitals are off the charts. This doesn't make sense."

"You used magic on her, Pomfrey! How did you think she'd react, you idiot?"

"We need to get her temperature down!" Pomfrey called out.

"If she dies, Madam—"

Harry shivered at the pure anger he heard in his father's voice.

"Yes, I know, you'll kill me. Just help me get her temperature down! You can kill me later."

Harry helplessly watched them flutter about trying to stabilize Aurora. Did all this madness before him mean that she was turning before his very eyes? He didn't know. He had never seen someone turn into a vampire before. But if that was what this was, he never wanted to see it again.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed, finding that he had no voice to cry. He wanted it to stop. He just wanted his family back. That's all. He just wanted a normal family for once. And he had been so close last year to having that. "Please, Mum. Please."

A few more moments passed before the terrible seizing stopped completely. Aurora was drenched from sweat, Harry could tell. Her cheeks were flushed, and her was sticking to her face.

"She's stabilized," Madam Pomfrey declared.

"For now," Severus said with a dark glare at the matron. The longest three hours of Severus and Harry's lives then started as they waited to see what was Aurora's choice.